Rightly or wrongly, the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP for short) is often seen as a Scotland only party. Considering their name, and their complete emphasis on Scottish affairs, this is not really all that surprising. During the course of this general election, Nicola Sturgeon and her MPs have consistently stated that they are the only ones who could deliver a better future for Scotland, and even the elusive second independence referendum. Recently however, there has been a slight change in tune. During the launch of the SNP manifesto on 30th May, Nicola Sturgeon stated that the SNP were the only party that could truly stand up to the Conservative party both in Scotland and Westminster, and that they would always vote for the betterment of the British people, regardless of other issues that might contradict their traditional position. The SNP manifesto featured several interesting points.
Like all other parties, the SNP promises to bring in more funding for the NHS, not just across Scotland, as many might expect, but across the entire of the UK. According to the manifesto, this increased funding would increase the NHS Scotland budget up by £1 billion by 2021/22. As the NHS is a crucial service for the United Kingdom, that the SNP is promising more funding for it is not surprising, however, considering their own record on the NHS which in recent figures was not promising, it is somewhat surprising that they are promising to increase funding across the whole of the NHS system in the United Kingdom. This might have been done to ensure that they are seen as looking out for everyone, and not just Scottish voters, something that might work well, should they ever enter into the much-rumoured coalition with Labour.
Another policy that is like Labour’s is the promise to protect the triple lock on pensions and protect the winter fuel allowance. Considering the ageing population across the UK, and the outrage that came from the Conservatives proposed amending of the Winter Fuel Allowance and subsequent U-Turn on the matter, including this promise of protection for the elderly is no doubt meant to resonate with older voters, and make them feel more comfortable supporting the SNP, be it in Scotland or in the UK. And considering the word of this manifesto is somewhat like the wording of the pledge in Labour’s manifesto once must think that it was deliberately done.
Finally, much like Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the SNP would support a UK-wide increase in the higher rate of taxation from 45p to 50p. Whilst the SNP unlike Labour stray away from directly stating what they see as the higher rate of earnings, they are clearly trying to play up on the increasingly disgruntled mood of the public of high earners getting away, or seemingly getting away with paying little to no taxation. That the SNP have made the point that they support increased higher rate of taxation across the whole of the UK, once more emphasises their new attempt to show themselves as a party not just for Scotland, but for all of the United Kingdom, in opposition to the Conservatives.
Further to this point, during the manifesto launch, Nicola Sturgeon said: “The manifesto has fairness and opportunity at its heart, and is a manifesto for a country that is welcoming and outward-looking.” A clear change of tack from previous statements from Sturgeon where she had called for a second referendum on independence to be held sometime during the Brexit process.
The manifesto had a independence referendum for Scotland as its last point, Nicola Sturgeon during the manifesto launch tried to keep the focus on the other points within the manifesto, only briefly mentioning the independence referendum. Even then she stated that she wished for it be held once the negotiations with the EU over Brexit had finished, so that the people of Scotland could have the final say over their fate. The constant emphasis throughout the manifesto and the launch, that the SNP are the party for the country to stand up to the Conservatives, not just in Scotland is a very new approach by the SNP, who previously had only stood for issues to do with Scotland. One must think that this new approach, which includes SNP MPs voting against any cuts to services in England, or an increase in costs for English voters, must do with the fact that their support in Scotland is itself falling. Recent figures show their support hovering around 41 % down a full fourteen points from the high of 55% of April, 2015. Whilst support for independence currently hovers below 45%.
Should the SNP win a majority of Scottish seats in the upcoming election, it would strengthen their mandate to demand a great many things from Westminster, something that Nicola Sturgeon and her supporters are well aware of. Whether the SNP would truly seek to work with other parties in Westminster to stymie a Conservative government remains to be seen. One thing is for sure, the SNP might mean well, but independence is always going to be at the forefront of their mind, and so they must be treated with caution.